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Art of Fighting
' Art of Fighting' was one of the other SNK hits. However, due to Capcom's Street Fighter, many fans claimed that SNK had copied most of the character designs and techniques as the kyokugenryu style highly resembled the Street Fighter's Ken and Ryu's fighting style. Though Art of Fighting recieved commercial sucsess and as planned, it released two sequels; Art of Fighting 2 and Art of Fighting 3. It did not receive the same extent of success as the renowned Fatal Fury and Samurai Showdown series. It shares a platinum position of Neo Geo's greatest. Plot Ryo Sakazaki, a trainee of the kyokugenryu style and his best friend and rival Robert Garcia discover that Ryo's sister, Yuri Sakazaki has been kidnapped. Ryo and Robert then leave their hometown and head to the corrupt Southtown where they believe that Yuri has been taken to. Before the kidnapping of Yuri, Ryo and Yuri's father and Robert's master had also mysteriously disappeared. They investigate the town and begin to find sources which eventually lead to another source but finally the duo encounters Ryuhaku Todoh, an enemy of the Kyokugenryu fighting style which he believes is a threat to his own way of Todoh. After his defeat he claims that he knows nothing of the kidnapping of Ryo's sister. Continuing their journey, Ryo and Robert face a number of other fighters such as Mickey Rogers, Jack Turner, Lee Pai Long, King and John Crawley. According to the edivence they gather they find out that a man by the name of Mr. Big had kidnapped Yuri and was related to the disappearance of Takuma Sakazaki. The waiter who they defeated (King) turned out to be a woman who did not like being hired by Mr. Big and agreed to help Robert and Ryo find Yuri. They finally found Mr.Big and defeated only to learn that the conman had already been defeated by a man by the name of Mr. Karate and he had taken Yuri. Outraged, they finally found the true criminal behind the scenario. Ryo defeated him and was almost about to kill him when Yuri stopped him and told him that the man was....(continued in the sequel). This marks the end of the story of Art of Fighting. Characters The character roster is better than Fatal Fury. Each character has a different set of moves and has absolutley no similarity among another. The game features ten characters exucluding an NPC (Yuri). Even though the story offers only two characters eight others can be used in V.S mode compared to Fatal Fury's three characters. Ryo Sakazaki: A fighter practicing the style of kyokugenryu. After his father disappears, Ryo is left with nothing but his sister Yuri and friend Robert. After Yuri's kidnapping, he goes to the dreaded Southtown to find her. Robert Garcia: Another disciple of the kyokugenryu art. Robert is the best friend of Ryo and considers him his rival. He is in love with Yuri however Ryo does not know that. He decides to help Ryo rescue Yuri and accompanies him to Southtown. Yuri Sakazaki: Kidnapped by Big, Yuri is Ryo's younger sister and Robert's love. Not skilled in fighting, she was a perfect target for Big. She is then taken by Mr. Karate after he defeats Big. King: A woman who hid her gender because that would decrease the amounts of jobs she would recieve. She fought Ryo and Robert (who though she was a man) but then decided to help the duo. Ryuhaku Todoh: A man who fought Ryo and Robert firstly. He had no connection with Big but agreed to help him as the Todoh style was an old rival of the kyokugenryu. Jack Turner: One of the members of Big's syndicate and developed his own style of fighting. He is one of Big's most trusted fellow members and quite powerful. Lee Pai Long: A chinese fighter who wears a mask and uses knives and martial arts. He can be called the medic of the AOF series and has somewhat of a relation with Mr. Karate. Mickey Rogers: An ex-boxer who accidentally killed a man on the ring and was therefore expelled from boxing. He now serves Mr. Big to satisfy his bloodlust for fighting. Mr. Karate: The man who defeats Big before Ryo and Robert and takes Yuri. After he is defeated, Yuri reveals Mr. Karate's identity. Mr. Karate is the father of Ryo and Yuri. John Crowley: A martial arts instructor and a military officer and was well known as the "Madman", he too wanted to bring an end to the dark rule of Big however decides not to help Ryo, Robert and King. Mr. Big: The main villian of the first Art of Fighting. He uses two rods to fight and is a famous gangleader. He is responsible for the kidnapping of Yuri. My Review The first Art of Fighting proves entertaining, especially with the different outcomes and prologues of the battles. The characters offer a great set of moves but may be a little shabby. The story is a classic kidnapping story. The game only did not recieve a great response due to Street Fighter which has somewhat of similiar characters. Robert would be my favourite character because of his style, design, personality and moves. The biggest defect I find is that an amount ki or energy is used to perform special moves like a normal kyokugen. The graphics, too, are awful even for 1992. The characters were too large and the stages too small. And unlike Fatal Fury, you can't move even from side to side. The other problem is that there are only two characters playable in story mode and both of which shared the same ending. Basically, the Art of Fighting is based on the kidnapping of Yuri Sakazaki and the dark hold of Mr. Big on Southtown. Category:Plot Category:Characters Category:My Review